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April 22, 2008
- Sam Weller has a short story, entitled, “The Quick Stop 5,” in the forthcoming anthology,
Who Can Save Us Now?:
Brand New Super Heroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories. The book will be published by Free Press this July and is edited by Owen King and John McNally.
- Sam has been hosting the Chicago Public Radio arts program, Hello Beautiful. Recent guests have included cartoonist Ivan Brunetti, musician and Chicago Children’s Choir Artistic Director, Josephine Lee, and Mara Fuller-O’Brien, co-director of the literary non-profit, 826 Chicago. Podcasts of the episodes can be downloaded below.
November 4th, 2007 Episode.
Feburary 10th, 2008 Episode.
April 20th, 2008 Episode.
- Playboy.com recently featured Sam Weller’s book review of Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy by Eric G. Wilson.
- Sam continues to tour extensively as part of the Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. For a complete listing of Sam’s presentations and book signings, check out the Appearances page.
- Watch Sam’s recent appearance on Week-TV in Peoria, Illinois as part of the city’s Big Read festivities here.
- Sam recently served as the faculty artistic director of the wildly popular 12th annual Story Week Festival of Writers. Read Pulitzer prize-winning writer Julia Keller’s article of the festival.
September 18, 2007
March 25, 2007
- Ray Bradbury is under contract to deliver yet another short story collection—this one tentatively titled We'll Always Have Paris. Great news for Bradbury fans!
- Sam has a short story about, of all things, Ray Bradbury in the forthcoming issue of the SF magazine, Tales from the Dim Unknown. Expect the issue to hit the streets in May. The story is titled, "Live Forever!" and boasts some remarkable artwork. The story was given the seal of approval by Ray Bradbury himself.
- Sam recentlty interviewed author Sean Chervover about his debut mystery novel, Big City, Bad Blood. The segment aired on Chicago Public Radio and can be found here: http://www.wbez.org/Program_848_Segment.aspx?segmentID=9521
December 16, 2006
- Sam is now on MySpace. Check out his page at: www.myspace.com/bradburychronicles
- The Bradbury Chronicles was given the prestigious Society of Midland Authors Award for “Best Biography” of 2005.
According to the SMA mission statement: “The Society of Midland Authors was founded in 1915 to create a sense of place and kindle the flame of literary expression among authors, poets, and playwrights residing in the American Heartland. It is one of the oldest, most honored literary societies in the United States. Carl Sandburg. Gwendolyn Brooks. Scott Turow. Edna Ferber. Ring Lardner. The brightest lights of the American Midwest have all been members.”
- As if the SMA Award wasn’t enough, The Bradbury Chronicles was nominated for the prestigious Bram Stoker Award in the nonfiction category.
- Sam recently interviewed David Standish, author of Hollow Earth: The Long and Curious History of Imagining Strange Lands, Fantastical Creatures, and Marvelous Machines below the Earth’s Surface (Perseus Books, 2006 ), for Chicago Public Radio. The book explores the legends and lore of “hollow earth” civilizations. The interview can be found here: www.chicagopublicradio.org/audio_library/848_ranov06.asp
Scroll down to Nov. 20.
Sam also interviewed Todd Tucker, author of The Great Starvation Experiment: The Heroic Men Who Starved So That Millions Could Live (Free Press, 2006) for Chicago Public Radio. Mr. Tucker’s book examines the little-known story of 36 conscientious objectors during World War II who valiantly volunteered to undergo systematic starvation so that scientists could better understand the starvation many feared would follow the war.
Listen to the interview by clicking the link and scrolling down to September 12: www.chicagopublicradio.org/audio_library/848_rasep06.asp
- The internationally renowned Chicago Children’s Choir recently celebrated their 50th anniversary with a gala concert event. Sam wrote an extensive feature on the organization for the Chicago Tribune. The story can be found at www.chicagotribune.com
- Sam recently interviewed Stan Lee, Father of the Marvel Comics Universe. The interview is scheduled to appear on playboy.com in the coming weeks.
January 4, 2006
May 26, 2005
- The Bradbury Chronicles was number 9 on the Los Angeles Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list for the week of May 15!
- Signed copies of The Bradbury Chronicles by both Sam and Ray Bradbury are all but impossible to find outside of Southern California or on Ebay. Sam is pleased to announce that his favorite Chicago bookstore, The Bookcellar, has an exclusive on signed copies of The Bradbury Chronicles available at retail price. These books are signed by both Ray Bradbury and Sam Weller and are available now! Quantities are already limited so hurry in. The Bookcellar is located at 4736-38 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago and on the web at http://www.bookcellarinc.com. Out of state fans can order the book over the phone at 773-293-BOOK.
- More Bookcellar scoop: Sam will be moderating the monthly book club at the Bookcellar on August 3. Check out the Appearances page for more details
- Sam's essay on a drive-in movie theater from his teen years can be found in this weeks Summer Guide issue of Newcity on Chicago newsstands now. It is also online at: http://www.newcitychicago.com/chicago/4383.html
- Ray Bradbury News! Ray recently sold a new short story, "One More Body in the Pool," to The Strand magazine. Look for it soon!
April 22, 2005
April 1, 2005
- A quick message
from Sam:
Good News! Library Journal just gave
the book a good review [SEE THE PRESS PAGE], which
is a relief on the heels of the negative, bizarre
write-up by science fiction author Frederik Pohl in
last weekend's Chicago Tribune. Certainly
Mr. Pohl is entitled to his opinion. Not everyone
is going to like the book, but in the interest of
full disclosure – something I, as a journalist,
take very seriously – a few things should have
been mentioned in his review that were omitted that
I would like to address.
In the early 1940s, Frederik Pohl was a literary
agent and Ray Bradbury asked him for representation.
But Pohl rejected him. Ray admits that his writing
at the time was less than stellar. So, the fact
that Pohl could have been Ray's agent is curious.
In the review, at the very least, Mr. Pohl should
have disclosed his history with Ray. Interestingly,
the Trib review didn't even list Frederik Pohl as
a science fiction writer.
To be clear, Frederik Pohl hails from the John
W. Campbell school of science fiction – a
group who has long criticized Bradbury for his flawed
technology, a group who has long resented the fact
that a man who concerns himself little with scientific
accuracy and who doesn't even call himself a science
fiction writer is the most famous writer in the
science fiction field. To me, Mr. Pohl's review
seemed to have more than a few conflicts of interest
that he should have addressed.
March 14, 2005
- BREAKING NEWS
In connection with the April release of The
Bradbury Chronicles, Chicago Mayor Richard
M. Daley has proclaimed April 18th "Ray Bradbury
Day" in Chicago! This is the very day that Sam
will be the special guest at the Harold Washington
Library Center (see Appearances Page for details).
An excerpt of the proclamation from the office of
Mayor Richard M. Daley:
"...for more than six decades, Ray Bradbury,
an Illinois native, has delighted and challenged readers
and critics with his imagination, creativity and cultural
commentary."
This news comes as a tremendous honor to Ray Bradbury
who was elated when he got word of the mayoral proclamation.
As a young man, Ray shopped in downtown Chicago with
his parents and visited the 1933 Century of Progress
Worlds Fair. It was this event that would help alter
his perceptions of the future and persuade him to
create his own singular visions of tomorrow.
CONGRATULATIONS RAY!
March 10, 2005
- Sam recently interviewed Dr.
Michael J. Collins, author of the gripping new medical
memoir, Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death
and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years
for Chicago Public Radio. The conversation is streamed
at http://www.wbez.org/audio_library/848_ramar05.asp
- Ray Bradbury reports that an
early screening of the Peter Hyams adaptation of A
Sound of Thunder was spectacular. "They
added things to my story that made it even better."
A rare and unusual admission by an author to say the
least!
- Hill House publishers have finally
put the finishing touches on their deluxe edition
of The Cat's Pajamas: Stories + Five.
"It's an absolutely stunning book," says
Sam. "The slip case has a die-cut in the center
showing one of Ray's cat drawings. It's a beautiful
book and a real labor of love. Well worth the wait."
- Ray is geared up to produce
more plays in Los Angeles in the coming year. Keep
an eye on this space for updates as well as on Ray's
own website: www.raybradbury.com.
February 8, 2005
- Sam Weller appeared on stage
with Ray Bradbury at the Learning Annex in San Diego,
California last Saturday. The sold-out crowd of nearly
200 was treated to yet another spectacularly motivational
speech by “the World’s Greatest Living
Science Fiction Writer.” It was also a first-hand
opportunity for the audience to listen to Bradbury
and Weller discuss the making of The Bradbury
Chronicles. How often do a biographer and
subject (in this case, a living literary legend),
explain the process of working on telling a life story?
The duo will return to the mighty S.D. in July for
the San Diego International ComicCon. Stay tuned to
the Appearances page for more details!
- Sam reports that Ray Bradbury
has been hard at work on the screenplay, And
the Rock Cried Out, originally written in
1957 for famed film director Sir Carol Reed. “The
unproduced script is one of Ray’s best efforts,”
reports Sam. “It’s a classic written during
his Golden Age. It was never made because of budget
constraints. But now Ray is editing it a bit, cutting
out about 30 pages, and he should have it done any
day now.”
- Ray Bradbury has also dusted
off Somewhere a Band is Playing,
a novel he started in the sixties as a cinematic vehicle
for actress Katherine Hepburn.
- Sam Weller is all over the known
universe in April discussing The Bradbury
Chronicles. Consult the Appearances page
for regular updates.
- Sam recently did a feature story
on the band Social Distortion, the
founding fathers of the O.C. punk scene, for The
Chicago Tribune. The article is available
on the Trib archives at: www.chicagotribune.com.
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